the hobbit

We knew, all of us, deep in our bones, that this day would come. The “Middle-Earth Limited Collector’s Edition” box set containing the extended versions of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies is coming. To say that it is “elaborate” would be a massive understatement.

I mean yes, we are in fact talking about thirty (30) discs containing every piece of bonus and supplemental material released to date. But that doesn’t impress you, does it? Mr. Collector, Mr. Completionist, Mr. “I Already Own Three Copies Of Each Movie On Both DVD And Blu-ray So I’ve Seen Every Behind-The-Scenes Snippet You Could Care To Rustle Up.” How’s about each film being presented in its own book, complete with faux leather cover? How about sitting those books on a very special wooden book shelf with a design approved by Peter Jackson himself? How about a recreation of the Red Book of Westmarch which contains official concept art and recreated concept art by Alan Lee and John Howe?

This incredible paper mâché Smaug trophy by artist Dan Reeder is so real, it feels like Benedict Cumberbatch’s voice might emerge from it’s throat at any second. You know, if his head wasn’t chopped off and mounted on the wall that is.

At any rate, it’s pretty far from that balloon you covered with paper mâché when you were a kid.

“It’s hard trying to match a Hollywood digital version,” Reeder wrote on his blog. “But the challenge was part of the fun.”

Whatever you’re smoking, be it tobacco or… y’know, some other thing, you should endeavor as look as cool as possible while you’re doing it. That’s where SVpipesdesign’s phenomenal custom-made pipes, modeled on characters from Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, can come in handy.

These hand-carved wooden pipes don’t come cheap, though – the Gimli pipe will set you back a whopping $2,500, so you’ll want to be pretty bloody confident that sucking smoke through a tube coming out the back of a dwarf’s head is for you.

Check out some more of SVpipedesign’s Tolkien-inspired handywork below.

Eco-friendly builder Green Magic Homes has created a new pre-fabricated housing system that takes a little from science and a little from fantasy to create an eco-friendly Hobbit Hole for the masses.

These modular structures are comprised of prefabricated panels made with composite laminate materials that are then covered with reinforced soil and grass, sand, or even fruits and vegetables. They’re built to withstand the elements, are climate controlled, and can be built in only three days by three people with no special skills or equipment.

Plus, they really can look like Hobbit Holes.

Having seen them, I love the idea of people building a neighborhood using this technology. It would be interesting to see just how self-sustainable a little Hobbit village could become.

Standing 7-feet tall, 5 1/2 feet deep, and 6-feet wide, this build used 120,000 bricks and weighs approximately 286 pounds. He’s even thinking about finding a professional cameraman to make a movie using this as a set.

A Hobbit hole looks like a wonderful place to live, albeit a bit “cozy”. With that in mind, West Stow Pods has launched a Kickstarter to bring what they’re calling a Poddit Hole to life. The rental home will be as close as possible to a real Hobbit hole. They’ve even asked for help from the Tolkien Society to get it right.

The home will include two double bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, and living room with log burner. If the project is fully funded, then backers will be among the first to stay there overnight when it’s estimated to be ready this October.

The original Rivendell built by Ben Pitchford contained 120,000 Lego pieces, far too big for an official set. However Lego reached out and asked if he would be interested in submitting a downsized version to Lego Ideas. He did, and it’s well on its way to becoming a reality.

The updated set clocks in at under 5000 pieces but still includes all 10 buildings, the main bridge to the platform, light-up moon rune with map, and the large tree at the top of staircase. The set doesn’t include the surrounding mountain for obvious reasons, but it does come with all our favorite hobbits and elves, a few horses, and of course Gandalf.

In an interview with The One Ring, Ben explains how he was able to build with such detail:

“I found a visual effects video from Weta Digital which gave me insight of Rivendell never released in the movie. With these behind the scenes images I was able to create every minor detail including the landscape, the location of the buildings, and even the moon runes which all light up.”

Take a closer look at the original LEGO Rivendell build after the break.

Lego builder Michal Kazmierczak has recreated the dwarf fortress Erebor from 55,000 Lego bricks. It took him seven months to build the 5-foot-tall model. It’s not just the outside, but the inside that he’s also faithfully recreated with Lego bricks, even adding in some minifigs.

He notes on Eurobricks that each dwarf statue weighs over 13 pounds and that it’s bigger than the official Death Star set. When you see the picture of him standing next to his project, that’s very easy to believe.

George R.R. Martin made a very special donation of a rare first edition of The Hobbit to Texas A&M marking the five millionth volume received by the university. It will join the first American edition (1938) and the second British edition (1951) in the Cushing Library collection at the Southern University which houses one of the largest collections of science fiction and fantasy literature in the world.

Only 1,500 of this edition, which features art designed by Tolkien himself, were ever published. Martin chose the university because he became connected to it after attending AggieCon back in the 1970s. He notes:

During one of those visits, I was given a tour of the special collections and saw not only the books and manuscripts and other items that were on deposit there but also the physical facility itself which was very impressive

Martin’s donated book will be on display for a short time before it is placed with the rest of the Tolkien collection.